Memorial United Methodist Church

(Cont. from Sept. 2007, Part 1)

Jesus’ brothers and mother come to the scene. His kin are embarrassed by him and worried for him. They send a message into Jesus. The messenger tells Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are outside and they want you to stop this craziness and come out to them.” Jesus responds, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He disavows his own family and looks around and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God are my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus redefines “kin.”

Kin, Conflict and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a story from my own life about following Jesus and discovering the division it can cause in a family. When I was in college and seminary, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was living and organizing in Chicago. Many of us from North Central College and Evangelical Theological Seminary were part of the group of students working with him, but particularly with Rev. Bernard Lafayette and Rev. James Bevel. We were set to go on a retreat on Thanksgiving weekend, designed to increase the number of students working with Dr. King. The retreat, at Pleasant Valley Farm, began on Thanksgiving evening. I would have to leave my home at 2pm on Thanksgiving Day. At my request, my mom scheduled our meal for noon, but it kept being postponed. We finally began to eat at 1:30pm. At 2pm I had to make a decision – finish the meal or miss the retreat. My parents were detractors of Dr. King. It seemed this conflict had been set up to test my family loyalty. I decided to leave and my sister took me to Warren Avenue Congregational Church to meet my ride with Rev. Kale Williams of the American Friends Service Committee. As a result I had a life-changing retreat and conflict with my family, with my kin.

This retreat set a course for my life that I still try to follow – the nonviolent path of Jesus. The retreat caused or revealed division in my family. On that day a family split got clearly defined. So it is with many of us. When we take seriously the Way of Jesus, which says we are to work for justice and peace in the world, our kin don’t always agree. I don’t claim to be more Christian than my kin. I do claim to be differently committed to Christianity than my parents.

(Cont. on Sept. 2007, Part 3)